A maiden clause ends at the first suffix word after the marker (rules.md#M2), and nothing asks whether the words from that suffix word on can actually be read as post-nominals once the clause has left. Where they can't, they land in a name part:
>>> parse("Dr. nee Smith PhD Prof.")
ParsedName(title='Dr. Prof.', family='PhD', maiden='Smith')
>>> parse("Dr. nee Smith Jr. Prof.")
ParsedName(title='Dr. Jr.', family='Prof.', maiden='Smith')
>>> parse("Doe nee Smith Jr. Prof., Jane")
ParsedName(given='Jane', family='Doe Prof.', suffix='Jr.', maiden='Smith')
>>> parse("Dr. nee Smith i MA")
ParsedName(title='Dr.', family='i', suffix='MA', maiden='Smith')
>>> parse("Doe, Jane nee Smith PhD Smith")
ParsedName(given='Jane', middle='Smith', family='Doe', suffix='PhD', maiden='Smith')
>>> parse("Jane Doe nee Smith PhD Smith")
ParsedName(given='Jane', middle='Doe PhD', family='Smith', maiden='Smith')This breaks M2's own invariant — "a word the clause gives up reads as a post-nominal or the clause keeps it" — which the trailing numeral, credential and title stops now honor (#533, #535) through one release check asked of the span they give up. The plain suffix-word stop is the one that never asks. #535 left it alone on purpose: it is older than the other three, it runs on every clause, and "keeps it" has no obvious meaning here.
Reach. Most of it is degenerate input — a bare title before the marker (Dr. nee …), or one word before a family comma (Doe nee …, Jane) — but not all: a credential in the MIDDLE of an ordinary clause (Doe, Jane nee Smith PhD Smith) does it too. Measured 2026-09-26 over #535's 327,936-text grid (heads × 1–3-word bodies × , PhD tail × case; recipe in decisions.md's #535 entry): 17,854 texts break the invariant, every one with the clause ending immediately before a suffix-vocabulary word; 11,149 more over the 173,057-text bound-given grid. Unchanged by #535; the 2.3.0 wheel reads the examples above identically except Dr. nee Smith i MA, which it read worse (given i, family MA).
The question. What should "the clause keeps it" mean at this stop?
- Run on: the clause takes the suffix word and what follows (
Dr. nee Smith PhD Prof. → maiden Smith PhD Prof.). Keeps the invariant; puts a credential in a birth name.
- Decline the take: the marker stays an ordinary word, as it does for
Jane Smith née PhD today (Dr. nee Smith PhD Prof. → whatever the name reads without a clause).
- Release anyway and accept: document the degenerate heads as a boundary. Leaves
Doe, Jane nee Smith PhD Smith middle Smith.
Related: #535, #533, #424.
A maiden clause ends at the first suffix word after the marker (rules.md#M2), and nothing asks whether the words from that suffix word on can actually be read as post-nominals once the clause has left. Where they can't, they land in a name part:
This breaks M2's own invariant — "a word the clause gives up reads as a post-nominal or the clause keeps it" — which the trailing numeral, credential and title stops now honor (#533, #535) through one release check asked of the span they give up. The plain suffix-word stop is the one that never asks. #535 left it alone on purpose: it is older than the other three, it runs on every clause, and "keeps it" has no obvious meaning here.
Reach. Most of it is degenerate input — a bare title before the marker (
Dr. nee …), or one word before a family comma (Doe nee …, Jane) — but not all: a credential in the MIDDLE of an ordinary clause (Doe, Jane nee Smith PhD Smith) does it too. Measured 2026-09-26 over #535's 327,936-text grid (heads × 1–3-word bodies ×, PhDtail × case; recipe in decisions.md's #535 entry): 17,854 texts break the invariant, every one with the clause ending immediately before a suffix-vocabulary word; 11,149 more over the 173,057-text bound-given grid. Unchanged by #535; the 2.3.0 wheel reads the examples above identically exceptDr. nee Smith i MA, which it read worse (giveni, familyMA).The question. What should "the clause keeps it" mean at this stop?
Dr. nee Smith PhD Prof.→ maidenSmith PhD Prof.). Keeps the invariant; puts a credential in a birth name.Jane Smith née PhDtoday (Dr. nee Smith PhD Prof.→ whatever the name reads without a clause).Doe, Jane nee Smith PhD SmithmiddleSmith.Related: #535, #533, #424.